Friendship and a Smile
by Saber Wing
Summary: Kira is finding it hard to focus in a less than interesting class, and Athrun is the one who has to pay for it. "I'm bored. How could you possibly manage to pay attention to this stuff?"


_**Author's Note: **_Yes, I got so bored in math class, I wrote something about Kira and Athrun being bored in math class. Started as just something humorous to occupy my time with, but turned out pretty serious and a little fluffy too. I have no idea how that happened, honest XD. Before I knew it, the mood had changed. By the way, they're both about twelve years old right here.

No, this is not slash. Kira and Athrun's relationship is, the way I see it, that of two best friends, or even brothers; not lovers. *sigh* And, I only wish that I owned this series but alas, I do not. On with the story!

**Friendship and a Smile**

**By: Angel Wings-008**

"…Athrun. Hey, Athrun!" Something sharp pierced into his arm repeatedly, causing an angry red spot to appear on his skin. Athrun Zala sighed as he rubbed his stinging flesh, emerald eyes locked firmly onto the board. His best friend, Kira, had been trying to get his attention for almost five minutes now, and Athrun was attempting to ignore him so he could listen to their teacher, without much success. This subject was grueling enough without constant distractions. He didn't want to be disrespectful to their teacher, but man was it tough to force interest.

Somehow, things like this always ended up happening when the two of them had classes together, especially when the subject failed to catch one or the other's interest. Ever since they'd both been enrolled in the same prep academy on the moon, they had been the best of friends, inside and outside of school. Honestly, they were inseparable. Athrun was glad he had met Kira, but his head always seemed to be stuck up in the clouds somewhere. Because of that, he could get quite bored with paying attention in certain subjects. He supposed he couldn't blame him, but he worried that someday, Kira's dreamer tendencies would get him into trouble. If that day ever came, Athrun hoped he would be there to help him, for his friend's sake. Right now though, he just wished the other coordinator would lay off and take notes, like they were supposed to.

The sharp object, which turned out to be a pencil, poked into his skin again and, annoyed, Athrun whipped his head toward where the other boy sat beside him. There was no use trying to avoid it. He would just keep on bothering him until he responded. With a world weary sign, he turned toward him, defeated.

"What is it, Kira? I'm trying to concentrate," Athrun hissed, carefully keeping his voice as low as a whisper. His friend, whose head was propped up on his hand, moaned and slumped further down into his seat. Chestnut locks of hair were scattered around his head in a state of chaotic disarray, as if the young man's fingers had been repeatedly shoved through them.

"I'm bored. How could you possibly manage to pay attention to this stuff?" he asked, incredulous. In an unmistakable show of mischief, Kira threw an amused glance sideways, his lips twitching up at the corners. Deliberately, he sighed and stuck out his lower lip in a pout, his arms crossed in a way that was made to mirror a petulant child. It had the intended effect. Athrun laughed; he couldn't stop himself. No matter what kind of mood he was in, Kira always knew how to make him smile. Nevertheless, he refused to be sidetracked. Even if this _was _as dull as he said, he couldn't let Kira get into the habit of spacing out so much. What if that ever happened while he was driving a car, or worse, piloting a mobile suit?

Internally, Athrun nodded his head, assured that this was the best thing to do to help him in the long run. "Calculus is an important subject. Anything we learn is worth paying attention to." It was the same type of thing he always told him, and yet this time, it almost killed him to say it. Athrun had to suppress a grimace; he knew it was true that this information was vital to them, but that didn't mean it was fun to learn. The fact that they processed the information so quickly did not help matters. Sometimes things were so easy for them, watching paint dry started to look fun.

"But Athrun, we're coordinators! We can already do this crap in our heads. Isn't the fact that we're here at all kind of counter productive?" Kira argued, failing to keep the whininess out of his voice. In exaggerated despair, he banged his head on the desk in front of him; his deep violet eyes, which Athrun could still see, shimmered with mock sadness. The young coordinator had to crack another smile. Kira sure did have a flair for over dramatizing things, though that didn't come as a surprise. The two of them were, at times, like night and day. Figuratively speaking, of course.

Athrun was by far the more cautious of the two, tending to keep a level, logical head, while Kira was impulsive, and more prone to following his heart and his emotions. He supposed that was why they were such good friends. Each of them had what the other needed. Right now, that was exactly what Athrun was here for; to help his friend in any way he could. At least, he hoped that forcing the other boy to focus on math _was _helping rather than harming. _Oh well. _In any case, it was too late to have doubts now.

"That doesn't mean we should completely disregard everything the teacher is saying. How would you like it if you were standing up there giving a lecture, and your students were goofing off and not listening to you? Honestly, you really should try to get your head out of the clouds every once in a while," Athrun replied in a patronizing tone, half jokingly. He didn't expect to be taken seriously, but unfortunately, he was wrong. Slowly, Kira lifted his head to look at him; within seconds, the young man's expression changed from boredom, to genuine concern.

His friend's gentle eyes shimmered in realization and his fists, which had previously been relaxed, were clenched tightly where they lay on top of the desk. "I hadn't thought of that…it must be really frustrating," Kira mused, still frowning, though for different reasons this time. He shifted his gaze downward, and to Athrun's surprise, he looked severely disappointed in himself. For one horrifying moment, he could read the emotions on his face as easily as he could read a book, and what he saw made his blood run cold; desolation and helplessness.

Athrun frowned. Had he gone too far? He hadn't meant to make his friend feel bad. Concerned, he felt his expression soften into something much gentler. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter an apology, Kira forced a smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'll pay attention now." Without another word, Kira turned back to the front of the room, forcing himself to focus on the words and equations, with visible effort. Obviously determined, he alternated between glancing at the teacher and the board; his eyes were full of understanding, and yet they were hollow and surprisingly sad. Soundlessly, Athrun gasped as he realized what he had done; it was his turn to lower his eyes in shame. The film of tears that his friend was so desperately trying to hide was proof of that.

That was tactless of him…Kira had very low self-confidence; it was plain to see. Athrun didn't understand why. He was smart, cheerful, and easily one of the kindest people he had ever met. If there was anyone in this universe who deserved to feel good about himself, it was Kira, but no matter how much Athrun tried to help him, his friend only saw the negative instead of the positive. By pointing out his mistake, and what Kira saw as one of his biggest weaknesses, Athrun had just made him feel even more inadequate than he normally did.

The young coordinator scowled, eyes narrowing in self-loathing. _I'm such an idiot! _Furious with himself, he threaded his fingers through deep blue locks, making a mess out of normally well-groomed hair. As his heart sank farther into his chest, Athrun tried to think of a way to dig them both out of this mess. There must be something that would cheer him up.

A minute passed, then another. Unrelentingly, he continued to wrack his brain for any probable solutions, but to no avail. _Darn it! _What kind of friend was he? Kira always knew how to cheer Athrun up when _he _was upset.

If Athrun was having a bad day, Kira was there to provide him with warmth, and words that would lift up his heart. If Athrun was scared, Kira was there, always finding a way to make his most terrible fears seem like nothing. If Athrun was stressed and his father's expectations became more than he could bear, Kira was there to rest his hand on his shoulder, assuring him that everything would be all right. Through anything and everything, his best friend had always been there to stand beside him. Athrun was going to do the same for him, even if it killed him.

Athrun gave an ironic chuckle, a short, choppy laugh that was more like a bark. Thanks to his own big mouth, he was too worried to pay attention to a word the teacher said. Now he was the one who couldn't focus rather than Kira.

As soon as the thought had run through his head the idea came to him, and in a sudden burst of inspiration, he was pulled out of his musings. Of course! That was it! He was surprised he hadn't thought of it before. It wasn't a permanent solution. As much as he hated the fact, he knew that Kira would have to work through his confidence issues himself, but perhaps for now, one thing was truly all he needed.

Grinning in newfound delight, Athrun picked up his pencil and stretched his arm as far as it would go, lead tip extended, reaching out to close the distance between he and his best friend. No, not just his best friend._ He's my brother, through and through. _He didn't need blood ties to tell him that.

"…Kira. Hey, Kira!"

Startled amethyst eyes swung around to meet his as the tip of the pencil poked into his arm, and the aforementioned young coordinator froze, mouth hanging open. It was clear that this was extremely unexpected, but that pleased young Zala even more. Athrun's emerald eyes were dancing, his smiling face glowing with warmth.

"I'm bored. How could you possibly manage to pay attention to this stuff?"

At first, Kira seemed even more shocked than before, but just as quickly as that shock had appeared it was wiped away, replaced with a grin that was filled with such gratitude, it warmed Athrun's heart. At the very least, Kira's expression told him that he understood. No words were needed for what had passed between them.

No matter what threatened to tear them apart, Athrun would be there to support him, even if all he had to offer was friendship and a smile.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Poor Kira. I'm the same way most of the time, spacey, especially when it's a subject I just can't bring myself to pay attention to. It's a good thing we both have people like Athrun around to help us out XD. Thanks for reading! See that little button down there? I'd really appreciate it if you would click on that and leave me a present :D. I'll send you some virtual pocky ^_^


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